Grandma Johnson had very sentimental feelings toward Johnson Canyon, Utah, where

Question

Grandma Johnson had very sentimental feelings toward Johnson Canyon, Utah, where she and her late husband had honeymooned long ago. Because of these feelings, when she died she requested to be buried under a creosote bush in the canyon. Describe below the path of a carbon atom from Grandma Johnson’s remains, to inside the leg muscle of a coyote. Assume that the coyote is completely carnivorous and it only eats animal prey such as rodents, rabbits and other small mammals. Be as detailed as you can be about the various molecular forms that the carbon atom might be in as it travels from Grandma Johnson to the coyote and the cellular processes that it must pass through. NOTE: The coyote does not dig up and consume any part of Grandma Johnson’s remains.

Explanation / Answer

Let's understand this ,

Here a biogeochemical cycle of Carbon is to be explained.

Now Biogeochemical cycle:- - Cycle of any element where it passes from bodies of living things indirectly to other living including from plant to animal then animal to earth soil and again plant that is in soil gains that element. This is biogeochemical cycle. Biogeochemical means from Bio to earth(geo).

Now here According to above case what's going on::-

As grandma gets burried under the creosote budget and biogeochemical cycle of Carbon element occurs. How did this Carbon atom reach to legs of coyote(Carnivore). Following point will help us to understand what's happening here:-

* Grandma's dead body under soil it will get digested by soil microbiota and minerals having Carbon atom such as bicarbonates etc.will produces as by products due to microbiota. These by products will get merged in the soil.

*Now plant(Creosote bush) is in soil and this byproduct soluble in water and reach into plant and the minerals constituents incorporates in plants.

**In bushes, there may be some animals reside such as rabbit which is herbivore(plant eater). Now rabbit eat that plant and that plant bulk will digest and incorporates in rabbit mass bulk. Now rabbit is carrying the Carbon of dead body from microbiota to plant and plant to itself.

*** Now, coyote preys on rabbits and other small animals and coyote will eat rabbit and the Carbon from rabbit transferred to coyote with flesh of rabbit.

So this was the path by which carbon from Grandma reaches to the coyote's leg.

From soil(dead body) to bio(coyote)= biogeochemical cycle.

Related Questions

Navigate

• Browse (All)
• Browse G
• Subjects

Integrity-first tutoring: explanations and feedback only — we do not complete graded work. Learn more.